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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28256046">Countless Screaming Argonauts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magi_Silverwolf/pseuds/Magi%20Silverwolf'>Magi Silverwolf (Magi_Silverwolf)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>B-I-N-G-O [17]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers (2012) - Freeform, Bickering, Child of Thanos Tony Stark, Dimension Travel, Fruit Salsas, Gen, Indian Tacos, Jewish Character, Native American Character(s), Native American/First Nations Cultures, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Powwow, Putting a Team Together, Recruitment, Siblings, Sort Of, Time Travel, kosher</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:34:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,504</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28256046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magi_Silverwolf/pseuds/Magi%20Silverwolf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>To prepare for Thanos' arrival, Tony &amp; Bucky go to recruit John Proudstar for the start of another Mutant Underground.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Loki/Tony Stark, The Proudstars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>B-I-N-G-O [17]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1413241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>MC4A Year 3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Countless Screaming Argonauts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.<br/>Warnings: This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. Please exercise understanding of personal sensitivities before and during reading.<br/>Author’s Note(s): I’m just smashing prompts together. Literally. My file name while I was working of this was “Prompt Smash”.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="Normal tm5">
  <span class="tm6">-= LP =-<br/></span>
  <strong>
    <span class="tm7">Countless Screaming Argonauts</span>
  </strong>
  <span class="tm6"><br/>-= LP =-</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">Tony didn’t look up from his phone as Bucky guided them through the crowded event. Fiddling with his phone was a good cover, and he trusted Bucky wouldn’t let him bump into anyone. It was better for him to be thought of as rude rather than risk attention being drawn by someone recognizing him. That was thankfully less likely here than it would have been in the world he had come from, because in this world, Tony Stark had died in the same ‘car wreck’ that had claimed his parents.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">That Tony Stark had obviously never flown a nuke through a wormhole to stop the Chitauri and had ended being captured by the Dark Order for an ambiguous period of time. All Tony knew was that it had been a decade and a half in his mental tracking of time but once he managed to get away from the Mad Titan and back to Earth, only a couple of years had passed. Despite the mind puppetry under Thanos, there was nothing to suggest that Tony’s mental calendar was missing anything. And yet there was also nothing to suggest that he had traveled back in time or sideways at that point.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">Time was different from planet to planet and in the black nothingness of space. Who knew?</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">It wasn’t until the collected might of the Earth Forces had fought Thanos and his army that things had shattered. Tony had managed to get the Gauntlet away from the Mad Titan while he had been distracted swatting the Avengers like flies. Loki had tackled Tony out of the way of a Chitauri Whale’s breath weapon just as one of the Masters of the Mystic Arts (Tony had his money on Wong but Loki favored Strange; not that it mattered because they would probably never know for sure) had opened a portal right in their path. They had fallen for what seemed to be simultaneously forever and only an instant before coming out on this Earth with an empty Gauntlet and no clue of how to get back.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">Luckily, Xavier’s group had found them before any other agency could pick them up. The X-Men may not be the greatest people in a general sense, but given that neither Loki nor Tony were human anymore, there were worse options on the table. SHIELD was just as bad in this reality as it had been back in theirs, and just as infested with Hydra. Neither of them wanted to be conscripted into service or worse: become an experiment. Since they technically didn’t exist in this reality, they would have no hope of being saved from such a fate. At least the X-Men would protect them, if only to the extent that they protected all metahumans.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">Once Tony and Loki had established themselves, they had started preparations for what they knew was still coming even to this new world. Despite all the training he had received as one of Thanos’ Children, Tony’s strongest skills were still logistics and mechanics. All the alterations that he had received during his captivity had just made that skill set even stronger. A brain that had already processed information faster than average human only improved when sped up, except for the now frequent risk of zoning out even more than he had while completely baseline human.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">It was one of the other reasons that he was staring down at his phone and being herded by Mr. Murder Strut. Large crowds had always been a bit overwhelming for Tony, no matter how he had been trained in faking a press persona since a small child. There was just so much going on in crowds and he was not very good at filtering all of it out. After the enhancements given to him by Thanos, he was even worse at it.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">The steady beating drums from the center of the ring made pulses of vibrant color flash behind his eyes as it echoed off the walls of the gymnasium being used as the main pow-wow arena. The flashses would have been pretty if it wasn’t so distracting. The jingle-jangle from the female dancers currently in the ring added its own bursts of paler color to the pulsing lights. A restless itch grew under his skin, demanding that he move.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">It was not much different than the time he had accompanied Nebula to the planet where blade dancing was common and expected. Pulling his daggers from their zero-space storage and taking a twirl in the arena would be as rude as it would be counterproductive, though. This festival might welcome outsiders to spectate, but given that the only dancers currently all wore the same kind of dress, this would not be a round that was open for everyone.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">Bucky’s hand slid sideways from Tony’s shoulder to his neck as they moved out of the gym and into the cafeteria serving as a makeshift marketplace. Tony’s nose twitched as he caught the barest scent of something like chili spice emanating from the kitchen area, barely noticeable over the pungent smell of osha root and sage from the booth right as the entrance. Aware from the din of the drums, Tony could now hear the quiet gurgle of Bucky’s stomach demanding food.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">Despite the need to complete this recruitment in a timely manner, Tony followed his nose to the register for the kitchens. The serum that ran through Bucky’s veins had also increased his metabolism along with his need for consistent caloric intact. That had probably been as much a factor in putting the Winter Soldier in cryostasis between missions as the need to maintain the conditioned responses. In the six months since they had recovered Bucky, he had been very successful in overcoming much of Hydra’s conditioning. Yet the lesson about not demanding food even when hungry was proving stubborn.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">It had become a habit of Tony and Loki to make sure Bucky ate enough to actually feel sated, something that the Winter Soldier repaid in kind, since they were both just as bad about regularly consuming enough food.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">The hand on Tony’s neck clenched briefly before disappearing as Tony bought two helpings of something called an Indian Taco (both without any shredded cheese) as well as two bottles of water. Public food was always a touchy subject among the three of them (and more than a few others in their acquaintance), but being able to see nearly every step of the process meant it was probably safe enough. The fact that so much of the dish was constructed from the same ingredient tubs as everyone else helped. Hard to poison just a few individuals when all the chili came from the same pot and all of the toppings were shared as well.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">Tony slipped his phone into the dedicated holster on his belt to free up his hands for the bottles of water while Bucky took the plates full of the mysterious dish. Indian tacos seemed to be a piece of fried dough covered with chili before lettuce, diced tomatoes, and chopped onion was piled on top. The person handing out the orders pointed them to a buffet table nearby that had been set up containers of condiments, including sour cream chilled in trays of melting ice and pitchers full of various types of salsa. Carefully, Bucky sniffed the pitchers before adding two different kinds to one of the plates and a different one to the other. Knowing from the smell that the chili had some kind of meat in it, he purposely ignored the sour cream for both of them.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">They settled at one of the tables in the area around the condiment table. None of the tables would put their backs against the wall, but they both chose positions that allowed them to cover each other’s blind spots. Both of them flicked out the camping multitool they kept on their person, locking the spork-like extension in place before focusing on their individual plate. The bread base was still tough despite the salsa and juices seeping into it but gave easily enough to the slicing edge of the spork. Scooping up a bite, they mock toasted each other with it before putting it in their mouth.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">Despite himself, Tony let out a little sound of surprised delight. The spice of the chili blended perfectly with the sweet tang of the blueberries and tart snap of the apples in the salsa. Then like a wave receding to the open ocean, the heat in the salsa hit him. He opened his eyes (not even realizing when he had closed them) to find Bucky watching him unabashedly. He offered up a smile before taking another burning bite. Bucky returned the expression with only the barest hint of a smile while continuing to eat his own food at a steady pace.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">They were washing down their last bites with their water when Tony spotted the man that Xavier had sent them to contact. He had clearly been on furlough for a while, as his black hair had grown out enough to gather into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was also carrying four cases of water bottles in his arms, without even pretending to be straining at all. Tony didn’t even try to hide his chuckle. Super soldiers, regardless of their origin story, seem to all be equally bad at hiding it.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">John Proudstar was a surprisingly difficult man to get a hold of without drawing attention to the fact that they were trying. No doubt his mutant abilities had served him well during his tours as a Marine, but it wasn’t like he could be open about them. If the Armed Forces found out about his active mutation, then the best he could hope for would be a less than honorable discharge. The worse case scenario would be disappearing into a shadow operation as either research subject or operative.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“So how are we playing this?” Tony asked, still watching the display of peak-human strength. He almost regretted that it’s a Midwest winter outside, which means that Proudstar is wearing a sweater that covered what was sure to be impressive arms. Bucky cleared his throat to recapture Tony’s attention. Tony cleared his own throat when he saw the cynical eyebrow being raised at him. “Just appreciating the view, snowflake. Maybe you don’t see it, being all muscly yourself, but it’s a very nice view.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“Did you come to KC just to ogle people?” a voice said from nearby. Tony just barely managed to not jump because he was certain that there hadn’t been anyone there just a moment ago. The woman tossed her head back to laugh before beginning to shake it vigorously. Her black braid swung over her broad shoulders with the movement. Tony eyed the visual strength of her biceps and thighs with a vague speculation on whether they were bigger than his head. He could already tell that she would tower over even Loki while giving Thor a run for his money on damn near everything, probably. Her dark brown eyes skipped over both of them before focusing on Tony. “You’d be howling up the wrong tree with that one, anyway. Johnny likes them fairly dainty and neither of you fit the bill, especially not as a packaged deal.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“We just want to talk to him,” Tony protested weakly as he felt a faint flush trying to fill his cheeks. Bucky looked entirely too amused at Tony being called out on something he wasn’t even really contemplating. The woman was smirking as well. “That’s not a euphemism! We really do want to talk to him.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“You don’t seem like feds,” she commented idly. Her gaze flicked to Bucky and then back again. “He is probably ops of sort, but you’d be too much flash for that sort of thing long term.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“I can do subtle,” Tony argued, earning a snort from Bucky. Tony stared at him in shock, his mouth opening and shutting a few times as he built up a bluster. “Et tu, Buck? How very dare! I am so telling when we get back to the mansion! Don’t think I won’t!”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“I can totally see the subtlety,” the woman agreed solemnly. Tony let his mouth fall open in shock. He would have turned his dramatic speech on her, but someone else cut in for him.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“Stop picking on the guests, Judith,” Proudstar said as he came up from their other side. “This gathering is already small enough without you chasing off outsiders.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“They aren’t feather chasers,” Judith tattled. “They’re here to talk to you, big brother, probably about something stupid and reckless. I want in this time.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“You can’t keep just inviting yourself along—“</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“You don’t own the powwow circuit—“</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“I never claimed—“</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“I’m not gonna just sit around on the rez because—“</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“God damn it, Judith,” Johnny snapped. His tan cheeks had darkened with a flush of frustrated anger. ”No one is asking to stay on the rez if you don’t wanna, but that doesn’t mean you have to just throw yourself into danger—“</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“But it’s perfectly fine for you?”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“Bet you a week of going to bed at a decent time that they’re siblings,” Bucky said, his mixture of Brooklyn and Russian tinging every syllable. Tony squirmed for a moment as he weighed the pros and cons of the deal. It was a sucker’s bet, after all. That tank of a woman was definitely John Proudstar’s sister. And a week was a long time when they all had projects that needed to be completed before the uncertain clock on Thanos’ arrival ran out. On the other hand, going to bed with his partners meant fun times as much as it meant decent amounts of sleep.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“Sucker bet, but I’ll take it,” Tony agreed. He gestured with his camp spork between the Proudstar siblings. “Besides, I think our offer is going to be open to both of you anyway. The family that does technically terrorism together is the family that stays together, after all.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“I’m only on furlough,” John interjected at the same time that Judith declared, “We’re in.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">John rubbed his face. Remembering seeing Rhodey with the same expression after dealing with Jenny, Tony patted his arm gently a few times.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“Sisters, right?”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“Yeah, they’re evil,” Bucky continued. He would know, too, because he had three younger sisters. John looked a little bit less like he was going to die of embarrassment as well, so it was working. “Can’t get rid of them, though. Might as well involve them in the plots so that they don’t interrupt at the wrong time.”</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">John pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he gave a sigh that sounded like it came from somewhere near his knees.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal">
  <span class="tm6">“Explain this technically terrorism we’re apparently signing up for,” he said with the air of a man who knew when he was defeated. Tony grinned before doing just that.</span>
  
</p><p class="Normal tm5"><span class="tm6">-= LP =-<br/></span><em><span class="tm8">An Ending</span></em><span class="tm6"></span><br/>-= LP =-</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Challenge/Competition Block:<br/>Stacked with: MC4A (xx)<br/>Individual Challenges: 88 &amp; Counting; Deity Deals (Y); Bonjour-Hi; Shabbat Habit; Chilled MCU Bribery (Y); Playlist A [Once Upon a December]; Playlist B [Remember Everything]; Playlist C [Pretend It’s Home]; Metahuman MC (x4); Mutant Organization MC (x2); Military MC (x2); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x3); Lovely Triangle; Booger Breath; Ship Sails; Gender Bender; Sliding Scales (Y); Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Marvelous Cinema; Gwen’s MCU Checklist [Winter Iron]; Skittles [Aromantic]; Short Jog; Bucket Listing; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift<br/>Other MC4A Challenges (Prompt): SpB [3E](Wind/Breeze); TrB [1C](Five-Man Band); SuB [2D](Cookout); AU [1A](Thief/Assassin); FaB [2D](Water); Set [1C](School); WiB [5A](Feast); Vocab [4C](Herd); Ship (Winter Iron)[Sp Med 2](Indian Tacos); Fire [Easy](Dancing); Chim [Otis]("Wait for It" - Hamilton); Hangman [03](Nontraitional Families); Hunt [Sp WD](Synesthesia)/[Fa WD](Native/Indigenous Character)/[Wi WD](Jewish Character)/[Su Set](KC)/[Fa Set](School)/[Sp Items](Potted Plant)/[Fa Items](Fork)/[Wi Items](Ribbon/Cord)/[Sp Con](Fruit)/[Fa Con](Water)/[Wi Con](Fruit); Garden [Rose Types](Countless Screaming Argonauts)/[Plant Food](Meat/Fish)/[Word Song](Everything)/[Avengers](Dr. Tony Stark//Iron Man)/[Plant Types](Found Family)/[Chore List](Dancing); Prompt Harvest [Actions &amp; Behavior](Eating Something)/[Tropes](Dimension Hopping)/[Items](Sweater/Jumper)/[Relationships](Poly Ship)/[Actions &amp; Behavior](Dancing)<br/>Representation: Jewish Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark/Loki; Proudstar siblings; Winter Powwow <br/>Primary &amp; Secondary Bonus Challenge(s): Hot Stuff; Jack’s Jollies; Mermaid; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Teat Juice; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Brooms Only; Lock &amp; Key; Three’s Company; Deadliest Catch; Lovely Coconuts; Younger You; Grease Monkey; Muck &amp; Slime; Rock of Ages; Under the Bridge); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Delicious Lie; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow’s Shade; Bandstand; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Messing with Morlocks; Turtle-Duck; Cooler Yelp; Getting On); Demo 1 (n/a); Demo 2 (n/a)<br/>Tertiary &amp; Generic Bonus Challenges: T3(Tether); SN(Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK(Poppy; Yarrow); FR(Satisfaction); O3(Orator; Ox); SHoE(Oblique); AC(Sacrosanct; Orchard); War(Orator; Obstruction; Sanctuary); TY(Kulonbozo; Enfant); Share(Passacaglia; Ameliorate; Augur)<br/>Word Count: 2500</p></blockquote></div></div>
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